History of the World
"You know, sometimes I wonder why the world is so messed up." ---Greg, the Lifelong Warrior Friend To tell the history of a world such as this is no trifling thing, as war and time have ravaged history to the point where few proven facts remain amongst the mountains of myth and legend. Far before man walked upon the shores of this land, it was ruled by many others. The first and most ancient were the dragons, the most powerful and grand of all the living races, though now their power is but a fraction of what it once was. Before elf, man and dwarf existed, the dragons were said to have carved the lands of the world with their claws and breathed life into it with their magic. They forged mountains, valleys and grand cities that spanned miles across in a glorious empire. So utterly ancient is the dragon empire that the legends cannot tell exactly what happened to it. It is known that one grand king rose to prominence who ruled for thousands of years before his kingdom fractured. Some myths say that it was civil war while others claim that a terrible darkness came to the dragons, forcing their king to become a tyrant. Others yet say that it was the elves, whose own empire rose to power in their wake. What is known now is that the dragons are the rarest of all the remaining beasts, living solitary, reclusive lives in more ancient parts of the world, guarding treasures of the ancient past from ever seeing the light of day. No dragon knows true companionship any more, and none living will ever speak the truth about their old kingdom. When the dragon empire fell, the elves picked up the pieces, claiming ancient dragon cities as their home and studying their power over the arcane. The elves were the first of the lesser races to show the gift of magic, and used it to assure their dominance by conquering and subjugating the others. The dwarves and the orcs, looked upon as beastlike by the fair and beautiful elves, were used as labor. The dwarves and their great mastery of crafting brought architecture, while the orcs provided strength and were the backbone of their military might. The elves believed themselves to be the superior race to all other beings. Perhaps the most damaging thing they ever instilled in the races they lorded over was an inability to work effectively together or independently of the elves; qualities that their elven overlords never saw any use in. Because of this, the dwarves that descended from them were never able to unite into a larger, grander kingdom, forming traditions of always keeping to strict family lines and exchanging of children only for the purpose of keeping the species going. The orcs, never groomed to have any higher wants or desires beyond the bullying tasks the elves gave to them, were never able to unite as a people, with great factions torn between wanting to live life in peace and live life in barbarism. At the absolute height of their power, the elves intensive study of magic brought about the keys to unlocking the boundaries between worlds, and the jewel of the sky was opened to them: the moon. Believing that the moon was the ground upon which the gods walked when they created the earth, the elves became the first and only mortal race to step foot upon its white surface, claiming it as their own and building grand cities there as monuments to their glory and vanity. Believing that they were the chosen race, their religion told them that the moon would carry them into the astral sea where the gods awaited their chosen children. Taking everything they needed from the lesser races, they abandoned the world below, isolating themselves. With their terrestrial holdings stripped of any trace that they had been there at all, the dwarves and the orcs broke out into immediate war over the territories they had been forced to share under the rule of the elves. Armies of dwarves and orcs clashed, fostering a rivalry so deeply rooted into the races that it has never been forgotten. It is during this time that another ancient empire came to this land, pilgrims from an ancient nation looking for a new home. This race was called man. Man cared little for the affairs of dwarves and orcs, claiming land for their new homes and building farms. What did interest both of these races were the weapons and technology the humans possessed; strange firearms and machine automata. While the dwarves were fascinated with the steam-powered mechanical wonders the humans had built, the orcs wanted only their weapons to use in their war against the dwarves. These early settlers decided to play both sides of the conflict and sell their weapons and machines for high cost. Both adapted these new devices into their armies, finding that they were still evenly matched, only now they had invested more time and effort into their rivalry that both sides were exhausted even more than before. What neither the orcs nor the dwarves expected were the vast armies of man to arrive in great warships, bringing great machines and weapons of conquest and war, far more advanced than the weapons the initial pilgrims were willing to trade with. Humanity set about conquering all in their path with the interest of building a new empire. The dwarves and the orcs found themselves pitted against a new enemy, and had they joined together they may have given humanity a good fight, but their bitter rivalry caused them to fail to unite against this common threat. The dwarves were forced to retreat to their mountain and subterranean homes with what little machinery they had left and the orcs were scattered to the far, desolate reaches of the land, broken into smaller hordes and clans. Humanity had won the fight for the continent and went about building their cities, guarded by warriors of steel and steam, ready to face any threat that could come against them. Or so they had thought, for none of these three races were prepared for the sudden return of the elves. The history of man does not record what transpired between the time of the elves’ self-exile and their return, but what is known is that upon the dark side of the moon, a queen had arisen. This dark witch, with power greater than any other elf in existence, led her kind on a war with the world below. For what exact purpose, no legend can accurately recall. Some say that she arose from the darkness of the moon, conquering her people, and upon setting her sights on the planet below saw man’s progress and decided that intervention was required. Others yet say that it was due to their religion; that they could only ascend to meet their gods by reconquering all of the world. No matter the reason, the elves returned in force. Initially thinking that the humans would be weak and easy prey, they were surprised to find a hardy and resilient people who fought back with their technology. The war raged for an untold amount of time, until the humans revealed their ace in the hole: the Juggernauts, massive mechanical constructs that blew through elven battle formations with ease, forcing them into retreat and back to the moon from whence they came. The humans, thinking they had the elves beaten, forced them to sign a peace treaty that bound them to forever remain on the moon. The elves, never intending to agree to such terms, played along until their queen could unleash her new plan. When the elves had gone back to their lunar home and the humans were at the height of their confidence, she and her people released apocalyptic spells of fire, ice and lightning rained down from the heavens, splitting the earth and cracking cities in half. This orbital bombardment scattered the humans and the elves prepared for their final assault. The dark queen of the elves led the final charge against the forces of man, both armies clashing against each other in a cataclysmic war which ravaged both sides. Just upon the cusp of elven victory, a single man whose name has been lost to time rose from the ranks of countless soldiers to oppose the vile elven witch. Wielding no gun or machine, but a sword steeped in legend and forged by a mighty human wizard, he charged the elven forces and cut through their ranks, fighting with the strength, speed and heart of a true hero. He met the dark witch and slew her, impaling her heart upon his sword. The elven armies were scattered by the release of her power. Her control over their will was broken. But no friendships would be made between these two species as the humans systematically hunted down the remaining elves, forcing them to flee to the one place humanity could not follow: their lunar home. But the dark queen, having lost both her hold on the elven race and her chance at the throne of the world below, would not allow either race to fully escape her wrath. The dark queen enacted a suicidal gambit, for in her eyes, if she could not have what she desired, none could. She unleashed a power so terrifying and awesome that it not only destroyed herself but nearly every living being on the planet in what came to be known as the Cataclysm. The utter hatred and evil contained within her soul, as black as the dark side of the moon from which she came, washed over the lands like a necrotic plague that spread like wildfire, withering and rotting apart cities, towns and people. It is said that for a moment, the entire world was consumed by her shadow, which reached up to blight the moon before taking the form of a massive chain that remains to this day, forever linking the world and the moon together. None know what truly happened to the legendary hero. Many say that he perished in the darkness that followed the queen’s death. Others say that he returned home to his beloved wife and died by her side. Now upon the broken world below the moon, there were no empires remaining, no grand armies or flags of nations. Even the Old Continent from which the humans originally hailed had suffered greatly, its monuments and cities left to crumble and die along with its people. But the dark witch’s power could not eradicate every last trace of life upon the world. Slowly, centuries passed and the surviving groups of man, dwarf and orc began to rebuild their scarred homelands, but nowhere near to the glory they once were. Humanity had lost its united empire the military might that came with it, forcing many pockets of humanity to declare their own independence. The long family lines of the dwarves became the core of their culture, with ancient tradition dictating their lives, especially concerning the technology they covet and horde. The orcs split down the middle, with half of their people wanting to build a unified culture, and the other half wanting to raid, pillage and loot as they had in the past. Slowly, life returned to the world. It is said that the only reason vegetation and plants returned to the continent was because of a tree larger than any other at the heart of a grand and ancient forest brought green to a world that had turned gray. From this forest and its tree, life spread over much of the continent, though some still exists as barren canyons or harsh desert. Few libraries and tomes of knowledge from before the scouring remained, making much of history lost, with only these grandest of events surviving. Other remnants of the ancient world are still said to exist. Ancient factories where humans built their weapons of war, lost towers of elven magic and artifacts, the great treasure hordes of the surviving dragons. As the races rebuilt and recovered these places of lost knowledge, magic and technology began to resurface in crude forms as they attempted to reverse-engineer the teachings of the ancient cultures. This has given rise to a wide variety of cultures and traditions as different places and peoples found different forms of magic and technology, such as the spirit-worshipping amazons of the jungles, themselves the descendants of ancient man. The dwarves, orcs and man have never since those ancient days gotten along on decent terms, and though it has been millennia since the dark queen’s reign of terror, any elves of the modern era, if not outright killed, are looked upon with supreme suspicion and hatred by almost every race. Though dwarves and men have found somewhat agreeable trade conditions, they don’t trust each other. And since the orcs never attempt diplomacy, racial tensions with all other races is always strong with the green-skinned folk. The most recent history of man is built within the heart of the continent: the Midlands. The Midlands is home to the closest descendants of the ancient human empire, with a monarchy ruling over vast stretches of smaller towns, baronies and farmland. By uniting under the common banner of their king, the people have banded together to forge a successful, happy kingdom. Though nowhere near as strong and powerful as the empires of old, this kingdom has survived the trials of war. From the Blasted Tundra of the northlands came hordes of barbarians descended from men, the Frostborn, seeking to conquer the south. The kingdom of the Midlands held them at bay in a long, suffering conflict, but eventually triumphed and sent them home. Many praise the king for his victory, but are uncertain of how long it will be before the leader of the Frostborn will reform his army and attack once more. The kingdom of the Midlands has had time to rebuild. The war was decades ago, and though the memories of those brutal times are fresh in the minds of the elderly, the youth of this generation are one of the first to be born in a time without war or strife. To them, the world stretches out wide and inviting, with ancient secrets waiting to be found and excitement lurking around every corner. Cultures from every corner of the globe, as wide and varied as the creatures that roam it, lie in uneasy truces. It is a world of many wonders, dangers and secrets. The real question for the young, starry-eyed adventurer looking to travel and find them is who they are going to share in their quest with, for it is dangerous to go alone. Take some friends with you. Category:Lore